Post on 05-Oct-2020
News from DrynetA global initiative giving future to drylands
GLOBAL NEWS
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>> ensures the follow-up of
Agenda 21, the Barbados Pro-
gramme of Action(BPOA) and the
ohannesburg Plan of Imple-
mentation (JPOI) at the national,
regional and international levels.
Agenda 21 recognizes that broad
public participation in decision-
making is fundamental for the
achievement of sustainable devel-
opment, and identifies specific
roles and responsibilities for sev-
eral major groups of civil society.
The CSD concentrates on cross-
cutting and emerging sustain-
able development issues. CSD16
will focus on desertification and
drought along with the interrelat-
ed issues of Land, Agriculture, Rural
development and Africa.
An outline of the Science and
Technology Community’s overview
and the NGO community’s report
related to the themes of the CSD16
is provided in the article below.
Sustainable development challenges
The ICSU emphasizes the achievements
of the Green Revolution in the 1960s
and 1970s like increased food and fibre
production, in spite of its partial failure
(e.g. salinization through irrigation).
Need for further growth in agricultural
production, however, is stressed. Other
challenges for sustainable development
are:
• CLImATIC CHANGE
Climatic change will exacerbate the
vulnerability of certain ecosystems and
their users and mostly lessen food secu-
rity. Better understanding is needed
about effects on agroecosystems, adap-
tation and mitigation strategies.
• INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH
Small-scale farmers are difficult to
reach with scientific advances and
new technology. A broader inter- and
transdisciplinary strategy in local and
international research using participa-
tory methodologies is supposed to
over-come the gap. The role of tradi-
tional knowledge is recognised. Better
extension services should help to dis-
semi-nate knowledge.
• BIOfUELS
ICSU identifies significant potential for
biofuels to increase energy security,
reduction of GHG (greenhouse gases)
and stimulation of rural development.
Gains for GHG reduction, with less side
effects on food production, are ex-
pected especially by the second
generation biofuels (using wood and
waste). In drylands the use of marginal
lands seems very promising.
• GENETIC mODIfICATION (Gm)
ICSU expects large gains by GM, how-
For the CSD16 the International Council
for Science (ICSU) submitted a discus-
sion paper (www.icsu.org).
ever, their use has to be discussed on
a case by case basis taking socio-eco-
nomic and environmental effects into
account.
• DRYLANDS, DROUGHTS AND
DESERTIfICATION
The important role of adapted man-
agement such as mobile pastoralism
in semi-arid/arid ecosystems is under-
lined.
Conclusions
The Scientific Community raises a
number of issues in line with NGOs/
CBOs like involvement of farmers/stake-
hold-ers, strengthening S/T capacity in
developing regions, better extension
services to (small-scale) farmers, pro-
moting sustainable agriculture.
However, some diverging views are
obvious:
• Increased food production does not
automatically makes more food
available to the poorest - the Green
Revolution encloses too little.
• Without land ownership or secure
owner rights, sustainable land
management is out of reach.
• "Participation of local people and
stakeholders" means to involve them
in the development process from the
very beginning.
• The Green Revolution can be
considered in a far more ambiguous
light due to dependencies on seed
companies, far reaching environmen-
tal pollution, i.e. broad use of
pesticides and fertilizers with
negative effects on agroecosytems,
water quality and biodiversity, etc.
By Drynet partner: Silke Brehm of LPP,
Germany
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16-20 June 2008 - Modena Bio 2008:
16th IFOAM Organic World Congress,
Modena, Italy "Cultivate the future" con-
gress will focus on Regional Values and
Indigenous Knowledge, Innovation and
Cooperation between different parties.
www.ifoam.org/events/ifoam_confer-
ences/owc/Organic_World_Congress.
html
25-28 June 2008 - Groundwater and
climate in Africa. An International
Conference, Kampala, Uganda.
The conference seeks to improve cur-
rent understanding of the impact of
climate and development on ground-
water resources in Africa, bringing
together water and climate scientists,
donors and consortia to share know-
ledge and expertise.
www.gwclim.org
20-29 October 2008 - CRIC 7 and CST
9, Istanbul, Turkey. The 7th session of
the Committee for the Review of the
Implementation of the Convention (to
Combat Desertification) (CRIC) will con-
vene in conjunction with the 9th ses-
sion of the Committee on Science and
Technology (CST).
www.unccd.int
International Agenda 2008
Drought, a sustainable development topicDrought occurs when a region receives
consistently much lower precipitation
than average. Although droughts can
persist for several years, even a short,
intense drought can cause significant
damage and harm to the ecosystem
and local economy, particularly in pas-
toral areas.
Drought, combined with low economic
development, is a common scenario
in drylands. It is a major cause of food
insecurity but the political climate,
national and regional agricultural and
rural development policies and prac-
tices, the state of watershed manage-
ment, as well as health and nutrition
issues etc., influence whether drought
triggers a crisis.
In developing countries a large per-
centage of dryland populations depend
directly on the often-degraded natural
resource base and typically lack alterna-
tives and/or have limited social safety
nets to ensure food security.
Strategies to reduce impacts of drought
include Drought monitoring and infor-
mation, Sustainable Land use Manage-
ment, Conservation agriculture, and
Rainwater harvesting.
The Drynet approach: highlighting
sustainable, innovative and indigenous
technologies in dryland communities.
By Drynet partner: Tanveer Arif of
SCOPE, Pakistan
Coping with drought
A SUCCESS STORY ON THE CENTU-
RIES-OLD INDIGENOUS TECHNOLOGY
THAT ENABLES LOCAL COmmUNITIES
IN SOUTHERN IRAN TO COPE WITH
DROUGHT
Situated in the south of Iran, the prov-
ince of Bushire has an arid and hot
climate in which the temperature can
reach over 50 degrees. The local com-
munities have developed ingenious
ways of coping with the conditions.
A unique example of this is the
under-ground gardens of Iran, where
traditional agricultural know-how is
combined with clever water harvesting
techniques to produce stunning quanti-
ties of grapes.
A stone wall about 50 metres in diam-
eter encloses every field. The ground
outside is fashioned with features that
capture and lead the very rare flash
floods to an underground cistern half
filled with topsoil. Rich harvests of tree
crops are achieved in this manner.
In the case of grape vines, underground
cultivation chambers about two to
three metres across are dug to six me-
tres in depth until they reach a "greasy"
soil which is called "shol" in the local
language. Expert well diggers who use
simple digging bars are employed for
constructing the underground cham-
bers. As soon as they reach the shol,
they fill the chamber half way with top
soil. In January, at the beginning of
winter, farmers would select suitable
branches of vine, and plant them in
good soil to sprout. In March, >>
News from DrynetA global initiative giving future to drylands
GLOBAL NEWS
4
>> they would transfer the sprouting
branches of vine in the underground
gardens. In the dry months of the first
summer, they may irrigate the young
vines five or six times. In the following
years, the vines need no more irrigation.
Vine branches creeping out of the
underground chambers, are led atop a
stone stand about a metre high called
"khan", which is filled with local stones.
The workers pass under the branches to
harvest the bunches of grapes.
Challenges: constructions due to
urban expansion have been ruining a
great part of the land and the under-
ground gardens.
Strategies: Collaboration between
CENESTA experts and the government
has resulted in a recent decision to
declare the remaining underground
gardens "cultural heritage". This will
ensure the conservation of this unique
technology for combating desertifica-
tion.
Stakeholders: rural people and
farmers.
Success: great local agro-biological
diversity; sustainable livelihood, food
security and organic agriculture can be
maintained by this technology.
Sustainability: grapes and other cash
fruit trees planted in these under-
ground gardens provide income for the
household. If maintained, the vines will
pull through as water and humidity are
assured all year round.
By Drynet Partner: CENESTA, Iran
A view of an underground grape garden in Iran showing the roots of the vines. The branches of the vines are led atop a stone stand about a metre high called a "khan" which is filled with local stones. Workers pass under the branches while harvesting the grapes.
For more details on the articles
published you can check our
website www.dry-net.org or contact
us at drynet@bothends.org.